By STEPHA POULIN
BG Independent News Correspondent
BGSU students are furthering their education without paying for winter classes, despite the university’s introduction of Winter Session.
This is the second year the university has offered a winter term, running Jan. 2 through Jan. 23. Students can register for six credit hours or request more.
As of Monday, 1,463 students have enrolled in winter session classes. That’s a 38-percent increase over the 1,062 who enrolled last year. Final figures will be available next week. Those can be online courses, internships, face-to-face courses, or travel abroad experiences.
Those who aren’t taking classes during winter session have an extended break that began on Dec. 14. The first day of spring semester is Jan. 27, making for six weeks without class.
Rather than spending the whole six-week break at home, many students go on service trips or find internships. But some students aren’t doing either for credit.
Morgan Ward, 21, a senior broadcast journalism major, is interning at Fox 8 in Cleveland. However, she isn’t taking a class over winter session or getting credit for the internship. “I just needed something to do over winter session, because I knew I couldn’t find a job for six weeks,” Ward said. “I’m not doing it for credit since I won’t be working enough hours to get credit. They couldn’t give me that many hours over six weeks.”
Last winter session, Ward completed an internship for credit at Rock the House Entertainment.
Yet since many employers don’t compensate interns, Ward was hesitant about finding another internship during winter session. “I would try to find another [job] option rather than pay to do an internship. Most of the options we have are unpaid, so it’s unfair.”
Neala Atkinson, 22, a sophomore graphic design major, decided to continue her work as a junior designer for BGSU marketing and communications over winter session. However, Atkinson went on a trip to Spain last winter term.
“It didn’t count for my degree, so I did it for nothing. I just did it to do it and got lots of pictures,” Atkinson said.
This winter, Atkinson registered for an online class, “Geography of Terrorism.” Since her mother works at the university, Atkinson receives a tuition discount. She’s not sure if she’d enroll in winter session classes without the decreased cost, she said. First-year graduate student Jodi Hites, a history major, said there aren’t many options for graduate students during winter session.
“The university offers grad students a few options over winter session. There’s not any specific graduate classes for my major. But to my knowledge, there are other undergraduate classes which are available for us to take,” Hites said. “There’s normally at least one study abroad experience that graduate students can join for the winter session.”
Instead of studying abroad, she found seasonal employment at Bath & Body Works. “I know two other grad students who are staying at BG over winter session,” Hites said. “One’s staying because they moved to BG from out of state, and another student is staying because their family lives nearby. Neither students are taking classes over winter session.”
Sophomore Katie Linger, 19, decided to apply what she’s learned as a world language education major on an upcoming service trip. She’s also taking a much-needed break from six extracurricular activities and job, she said.
“I decided not to work or take any classes. Other than my service trip, I’m relaxing,” Linger said. “People who have nothing to do feel like it’s just too long of a break, but I really like having that extra time to relax.”
Linger, who’s studied Spanish for seven years, will serve as a translator on a medical mission trip to Honduras. “It was hard to find something offered at the university in my niche, so I opted to do an external program.”
Camden Sondergeld, 20, a senior majoring in political science, also isn’t taking any classes over winter session, but he wants to continue learning.
“I plan to keep traveling,” Sondergeld said. “I also intend to study for the LSAT and catch up on subject matter that felt rushed during the semester.”
Sondergeld would take classes over winter session if he needed to, he said. “I like the idea of completing classes during winter break,” he said. “There’s many that would be nice to get out of the way quickly.”
Junior Glenn Mills, 20, plans to apply the skills he’s gained as a media production major, recording and producing songs for friends. He’ll also continue working for BGSU Dining, “although there aren’t as many hours during break,” he said.
“I’m not taking winter classes because of the cost,” Mills said. “I might need to take summer or winter classes next year to avoid staying another semester.”
Senior communications major Kylie Tusing, 22, decided to relax over winter session. “This fall was so busy with work, school and extracurricular activities that my mind just needs time to settle, so one of my big focuses is to just take things slower,” Tusing said. “I looked into the cost for just one or two classes, and it didn’t seem worth it.”
Tusing is taking 20 credit hours during the spring semester. It costs an addition $400, because she’s exceeding the maximum credit hours for a full-time student. “It was still better than paying for winter semester.”
